Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says separatists who are upset that a binding vote on quitting Canada has been put off should focus on the province's fall referendum — rather than campaigning to force a review of her job. Smith announced in a televised address Thursday that a question on the Oct. 19 referendum will ask Albertans if they want to...
Legal process for leaving Canada is laid out in a 1998 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent Clarity Act. With the possibility of two separation referendums on the horizon, Canadians could be forgiven for wondering what would happen if voters in one province or another decide they no longer want to be a part of Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Friday blamed Canada’s unity crisis – reignited this week after her decision to put a convoluted question about secession to a provincial referendum – on other political leaders. The Premier, a year ago, threatened an “unprecedented national unity crisis” if Ottawa did not scrap laws she viewed as hostile toward Alberta’s energy industry. She and...
Jobs minister says Canada Labour Code hasn't 'kept up with the times.' As Canada embarks on a massive plan to expand its infrastructure and exports, unions worry the federal government may be trying to fundamentally alter labour rights. Ottawa is currently consulting unions and employers on potential changes to the legislation that protects more than a million Canadian workers in...
As weeks go by, this couldn't have been worse for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. It's one thing to get in a fight with Ottawa, even a neighbouring Premier, but your own party? Your own cabinet? Or both? Over a referendum. That's just one of the topics up for discussion with Chantel Hebert and Bruce Anderson. Also on tap, Breaking News...
The latest Ontario Political Tracker from Liaison Strategies shows the Progressive Conservatives and Ontario Liberals tied among decided and leaning voters. If a provincial election were held today, the PCs led by Doug Ford and the Ontario Liberal Party led by John Fraser would each receive 37% of the vote. The Ontario NDP led by Marit Stiles sits at 20%...
The latest Capital Tracker from the Ottawa Compass and Liaison Strategies shows Mayor Mark Sutcliffe leading among decided and leaning voters in an early Ottawa mayoral ballot, while Tim Tierney would enter the race in double digits. Among decided and leaning voters, with Tierney included on the ballot, Sutcliffe leads with 37%, followed by Jeff Leiper at 32%, Alex Lawson...
Canadians need to stare down the stark reality of what happened in Alberta this week. Premier Danielle Smith has moved her province closer to separation than it has ever been. This brewing national-unity crisis has not come about from the tyranny of the majority — it has been created by a minority wielding too much power for its size, and...
Marilyn Gladu was planning to leave politics when she says a conversation with Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon changed her mind. Gladu had a few offers lined up as she contemplated exiting her role as a Conservative MP, one she had held since 2015, and was pondering a return to engineering, a field she had spent years working in before...
Tamara Jansen, the Conservative member of Parliament for Cloverdale-Langley City in B.C., announced the birth of her newest grandchild on social media, who appeared to be named after the late U.S. political commentator Charlie Kirk. “Introducing the latest addition to our family! Little Charlie Kirk Jansen,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “He’s the 23rd grandchild in the...
Canada’s selection as home to the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank affirms our country’s credibility with its allies and its leadership at a time when defence, security and economic resilience is critical. Nova Scotia was one of the first to raise our hand in support of Canada’s bid.
There is nothing small about Alberta. It is a towering place, of mountain peaks and prairie sky. It is a powerhouse of energy and agriculture and business. Just for good measure, it also throws the country’s most famous party every July. So why, in such a bold place, is a Captain Canada MIA? I refer, of course, to how quiet...
Premier Danielle Smith appeared to be working many strategies at once with her complicated 37-word, referendum-to-hold-a-referendum question on Alberta’s future in Canada. One doesn’t put forth a vote with dueling options to remain a Canadian province or start a process to lead to a future binding independence vote, unless one is trying to juggle many tactical balls and clubs and...
So I guess we’re doing this, eh? I mean, of course Alberta is holding a secession referendum. It’s Alberta; the province that consistently exhibits the inverse of one of Paul Wells’ most-famed Rule of Politics. To wit: “1: For any given situation, Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting possible outcome.”
The Political Pulse panel weighs in as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith asks Albertans to decide whether to stay in Canada, or start a process that could lead to the breakup of the country.
I wish there was a word in the English language for something at once deeply consequential and profoundly silly. I don’t know how else to describe what’s going on in Alberta right now. It’s a national unity crisis and it’s incredibly stupid. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious — like a pratfall in a clown car driving...
You had to know this was coming. It didn’t take long. Not long at all, as in minutes. One big name in the Alberta independence movement is vein-popping pissed off. Jeff Rath has become to the go-to guy when newshounds want to take the temperature of the Alberta separatists. Right now, Rath’s political thermometer indicates a heat wave.
Surprise! We’ve got the Danielle Smith two-step. If your head is hurting by the time you read this column it’s not because you ate ice cream too fast. The early verdict is in on Thursday night. A lot of folks are confused. Some don’t even know how to react.
After weeks of agonizing, Premier Danielle Smith has come up with her own referendum question. This weird, unworkable puzzler was unveiled Thursday evening in her speech to the province.
Canada is embarking on its largest military buildup in generations. The government has committed to NATO’s new defence target, which will dramatically increase spending on military capabilities and defence-related infrastructure over the next decade. A dangerous world requires credible defence. But military spending alone will not make Canada safer, more influential, or more respected internationally.
This time they didn’t just bury it: they omitted it altogether. Over the years the annual reports of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have become longer and longer, and more and more opaque. This year’s is no exception, weighing in at a prodigious 84,000 words, most of it unintelligible – deliberately so, one is forced to conclude. Nevertheless, there...
I take Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at her word that she supports a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” which is the refrain she hauls out every time she is asked for her personal opinion on Alberta independence. While Alberta’s NDP is busy charging that the Premier and her entire caucus “are separatists. Period,” Ms. Smith’s long tenure as a...
What is Premier Danielle Smith going to do? How is the Smith government going to get out of this jam? At this point you’re no doubt asking: What are you talking about? Read this column carefully. Don’t rush to a conclusion. Follow the stickhandling around the political land mines. The referendum question may not be what you think it is...
Events suddenly stacked up Wednesday into a pre-summer political blast. Top of the heap was two resignations from cabinet. Then came a bitter blow-up in the legislature committee reviewing Thomas Lukaszuk’s pro-Canada question for a referendum on independence. The cabinet shuffle had been rumoured. It turned out to be significant. Premier Danielle Smith will name new ministers Thursday morning.
In the latest NY Times/Siena poll, Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped to 37 per cent, among the lowest it has been in either of his presidential terms. He’s almost always managed to stay north of 40. Not now. In his own party, the mad King continues to command bristling support, as evidenced by his success in ousting Republican lawmakers who...
B.C. Premier David Eby stood by Mark Carney in Vancouver on Wednesday and said he would be the one to speak hard truth to the prime minister. A day earlier, without Carney present, Eby was pretty clear on what truth he wants to tell — that the federal government is putting Alberta’s interests above those of the other provinces because...
An extraordinary exchange with potentially dramatic consequences for Canada took place at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s potato-faced permanent representative at the UN, told the council that his country’s intelligence agency believes Latvia is deploying Ukrainian drones on its territory, with the intention of attacking Moscow. “Membership of NATO will not protect you from just...
David Eby doesn’t perform well when drawing lines in the sand. It’s not in his emotional range. But the Premier of British Columbia wanted everyone to know he is miffed. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Prime Minister is a friend to British Columbia,” Mr. Eby said as he stood beside Prime Minister Mark Carney at a photo-op...
A pro-Canada independence referendum question may head for approval Wednesday. The separatists hate the question and threaten revenge. The proponent, Thomas Lukaszuk, is engaged in his own political brawl with the UCP. On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith was considering a televised address to the province, probably on Thursday, to talk about a referendum.
Is Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s strategy for getting a bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s northwest coast about to reach its breaking point? Sure, she’s got two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Prime Minister Mark Carney that pave the way for the pipeline but there’s still a lot of terrain to cover before it becomes a reality. And the thing that could...
The prime minister is starting to collect evidence to help Canada reclaim its status as one of the world’s most investible, mining-friendly jurisdictions.
I recently taught an intensive course to Queen’s University graduate students on the origins of the current crisis in the relationship between Canada and the United States, after teaching a similar course at the Munk School in Toronto. It’s been a great experience, and fun to be back in the classroom. My stay in Kingston included an enjoyable visit with...
It is possible you have never heard of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence. It meets just once or twice a year – these days not even that – to provide Canadian and American military leaders with the opportunity for a full and frank exchange of views on bilateral defence issues. But it is far from the only instrument of...
This weekend, the U.S. paused its participation in an organization most Canadians have likely never heard of: the Permanent Joint Board on Defence. It was established in 1940, following U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pledge that the U.S. would defend Canada if it were attacked, and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King’s promise that “enemy forces should not be able...
Remarks from U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra add to harshly critical statements from lobby groups representing Hollywood and tech companies. President Trump’s chief envoy in Ottawa accused Canadian authorities on Friday of imposing new trade barriers by sharply increasing how much the big, U.S.-based online streaming companies must contribute financially to Canadian television programming. The remarks from Pete Hoekstra, the U.S...
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Canada in late May, Beijing announced Friday, marking his first trip here in a decade as both countries work to cement a new partnership struck in January after a bitter trade war and years of strained relations. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand plans to take Mr. Wang on a hike in nearby Gatineau...
The Motion Picture Association is slamming new streaming revenue rules in Canada, saying they impose unprecedented, unnecessary and discriminatory investment obligations on U.S. streaming services. Canada's broadcast regulator, the CRTC, said Thursday that large TV streaming services must contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content. That's three times the initial contribution requirement the CRTC set out...
The head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says uncertainty around Alberta's future role in the country brings risks for investor confidence, economic growth and Canada's global competitiveness at "exactly the wrong time." Candace Laing made her remarks in a written statement after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Albertans are to vote this fall on whether to hold a binding...
Funding will be used to buy drones, spy tech and boost intelligence gathering. Canada will pump $816 million into maritime security over the next seven years to strengthen the coast guard's capabilities from the high Arctic to the country's southern coast lines, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced Friday. "This is an investment in Canada's Arctic security," McGuinty said in Iqaluit...
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she has received details from her officials in Turkey about the "appalling abuse" suffered by Canadians who were on board a flotilla trying to reach Gaza. She says the 12 Canadians on the Global Sumud Flotilla have now all arrived in Turkey and are receiving "urgent medical care." The Canadians were among 420 individuals...
As Albertans brace for a fall vote on whether there should be a referendum on leaving Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a point on Friday of stating that Canada is the best country in the world, and his government is committed to work with Alberta to make it even better. “Canada is working. We’re working in a spirit of...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Alberta “being at the center” of Canadian development is “essential,” after Premier Danielle Smith announced a referendum that will ask whether the province should leave Canada. “Canada is working. We’re working in a spirit of cooperative federalism to make the country better. We’re renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the center...
Letter was sent to PM prior to latest pipeline agreement with Alberta. Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault may be the most outspoken, but he's not the only member of his party unhappy with Prime Minister Mark Carney's environmental rollbacks. Carney signed a new agreement with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith last week that could see construction on an oil pipeline to the...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Thursday that a referendum on Oct. 19 will include a question about whether Albertans want, at a future date, to hold a binding referendum on the province quitting Canada. "Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate," Smith said in televised speech. "It's time to have a vote, understand...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to hold a news conference today about her referendum question on separation, which separatist leaders are dismissing as "spineless" and ineffective. Smith, in a televised address Thursday, announced Albertans would vote in an Oct. 19 referendum on separation.
Premier Danielle Smith announced Thursday that Albertans will be going to the polls Oct. 19 to vote on whether there should be a future binding referendum on the province quitting Canada. Here's a timeline of pivotal moments in Alberta's separatism debate: Oct. 28, 1980 -- The federal government ignites widespread alienation in Alberta with the National Energy Program, which seeks...
Premier Danielle Smith says Albertans will be going to the polls in October to cast their vote on separation - but they won't actually be voting on whether to separate. Instead, they'll be choosing whether or not it's time to hold a binding referendum on quitting Canada. Smith made the announcement in a televised address Thursday night, saying it's the...
A U.S.-based lobbying group representing some of the biggest tech companies in the world is calling on the Canadian government to withdraw its lawful access bill — suggesting there could be complications in the trade relationship if it passes. Bill C-22 promises to give police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) faster and smoother access to information during investigations...
Streaming companies launched legal challenge against initial requirements that's still before courts. Large online streaming providers like Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video will be expected to contribute more of their revenue to Canadian content, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced Thursday. The Online Streaming Act, which passed in 2023 under the former Trudeau government, enabled the broadcast regulator...
The federal government confirms it spent $29.3 million on a contract to upgrade planes flown by Canada’s iconic Snowbirds demonstration squadron, even though the aging jets are about to be retired. The Department of National Defence (DND) told CBC News it spent that money over the past five years to modernize 13 of the jets, which were built in the...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals would likely increase their parliamentary majority if a federal election were held now, polls suggest. According to The Signal, the Star’s poll aggregator, Carney’s Liberals, who currently have 174 MPs in the 343-member Commons, would win between 167 and 218 seats — with a median tally of 192 — with 44.9 per cent of the popular vote.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he and all Conservative MPs will press for Alberta to remain part of Canada in any separation referendum campaign in the province. "I'm a strong Canadian federalist, a proud Albertan and a proud Canadian. I want a strong Alberta within a united Canada, and all Conservatives will be campaigning for Canadian unity in Alberta," Poilievre...
'It’s a shot across the bow. The U.S. administration has clearly been watching the PM’s moves on defence and has concludes that there’s too much talk and too little action,' says defence expert Christian Leuprecht.
The cabinet minister who put the wheels in motion for a referendum on Alberta's place in Canada says he doesn't want the province to separate. Nate Glubish says in a social media post that Canada is worth fighting for and that he'll vote for Alberta to stay if a referendum goes ahead as proposed on Oct. 19. He also says...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is to make a TV address to the province tonight amid speculation of a referendum on separation. It is to be broadcast at 6:45 p.m. on CTV, Global and Rogers as well as livestreamed on the premier's social media accounts. The address comes a day after members of her United Conservative Party caucus failed to pass...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has shuffled her cabinet, naming Jason Nixon her new finance minister. Nixon takes over from Nate Horner, who announced earlier this week he was stepping down and won't run in the 2027 provincial election. Nixon had been social services minister.
A bid by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservatives to hold a potential vote on Alberta quitting Canada took a step forward Thursday -- but not without some drama. Three members of Smith's UCP caucus passed a motion in committee asking her and her cabinet to put the issue to a referendum on Oct. 19. The vote split along party...
Political rhetoric is ramping up ahead of a planned fall referendum in Alberta. “Our view is Danielle (Smith) needs to make a decision: Is she going to support Mister Lukaszuk, or is she going to support her base? What we are saying is she needs to understand that if she abandons her base or betrays her base, there will likely...
The Canadian Armed Forces are asking military personnel in the National Capital Region to return some field gear, including vests to hold body armour, to address what the Forces describe as “critical equipment shortages” for deployed operations. A May 13 e-mail from National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, obtained by The Globe and Mail, cites this inventory shortfall. It directs all...
Officials managing the federal government's return-to-office plans are concerned about the ability of Ottawa's troubled municipal transit system to actually get public servants to their workplaces, an internal memo shows. Canada's top public servant, Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia, and Isabelle Mondou, the deputy clerk, met with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe on Feb. 19 to discuss the city's readiness to...
Washington's decision to pause bilateral body appears aimed at influencing Canada's military policy. Although greeted with a mixture of angst, anger and genuine confusion in this country, it is undeniable that the Pentagon’s move this week to freeze one of the oldest pillars of continental defence co-operation — ostensibly to punish Canada — carried with it notes of dark comedy...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is expected to announce changes to her cabinet today in Calgary. The premier has not shared details about who may be on the move either in or out of her government.
Alberta’s journey toward holding a fall referendum on separation took a bizarre turn Wednesday — straight into another roadblock. It occurred when the governing United Conservative members on a bipartisan legislature committee introduced a motion to formally ask Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet to initiate a provincewide vote on Alberta's status in Confederation this October. The motion was expected...
Conservative MP and parliamentary foreign affairs committee vice-chair, Michael Chong says China is attempting to “move the goal posts” by trying to prevent Canadian officials from visiting Taiwan. Chong, who is also the Conservative foreign affairs critic, is in Taiwan this week to meet with Taiwanese officials, including Lai Ching-te, president of the Republic of China Taiwan. Several delegations of...
Republicans are rushing to redraw congressional districts to their advantage ahead of the midterm elections following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.
SUFFERN, New York (AP) -- President Donald Trump, from a toss-up congressional district in New York on Friday, began testing his midterm-year message that was ostensibly on the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A bipartisan group of senators is pushing back on delays by the Department of Defense in sending $600 million in security aid to Ukraine and other allies in eastern Europe, dispatching a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday that calls for the funding to be disbursed.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off on a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate President Donald Trump's allies for alleged political prosecution, he may have pleased his boss.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Canada in late May, Beijing announced Friday, marking his first trip here in a decade as both countries work to cement a new partnership struck in January after a bitter trade war and years of strained relations. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand plans to take Mr. Wang on a hike in nearby Gatineau...
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she has received details from her officials in Turkey about the "appalling abuse" suffered by Canadians who were on board a flotilla trying to reach Gaza. She says the 12 Canadians on the Global Sumud Flotilla have now all arrived in Turkey and are receiving "urgent medical care." The Canadians were among 420 individuals...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling Israel's treatment of people aboard an intercepted flotilla "abominable" and "unacceptable," and says Ottawa is seeking assurances about the safety of Canadians involved.
China's embassy in Canada says a Canadian MP's visit to Taiwan crosses a "red line" at a time when Ottawa is attempting to rebuild its relationship with Beijing. Conservative MP Michael Chong is in Taiwan this week to meet with Taiwanese officials and assert Canadian sovereignty after China's ambassador to Canada warned MPs against travelling to Taiwan in an interview...
A Canadian MP is on route to Taiwan to assert “Canadian sovereignty” in the face of what he called is a warning from China’s ambassador to Canada against members of parliament visiting the island. Conservative MP Michael Chong will meet with Taiwanese leaders next week. China’s embassy has already condemned the trip, arguing it contravenes a “red line for China-Canada...
The question that Alberta’s Premier, Danielle Smith, will ask Albertans on October 19 is the following:
By the end of next month, it is widely expected that the Government of Canada will make one of the most consequential military procurement decisions in modern Canadian history under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). The contract for the acquisition and in-service support of 12 new submarines to replace the aging Victoria-class fleet is estimated to cost approximately $8...
The resurgence of protectionism internationally and trade tensions between Canada and the United States have brought the issue of borders in international trade back to the forefront. While at one time many envisioned a future in which national borders would cease to be a significant economic factor, the current situation very much suggests otherwise.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
“Despite the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries…Lebanon moved forward with the ban on antipersonnel landmines,” said the Ottawa-based group Mines Action Canada in a statement, celebrating the new addition.
Canada’s privacy laws are supposed to protect ordinary citizens from unwarranted intrusions into their personal lives. But they can also protect pedophiles. Dead pedophiles. Dead pedophiles from America.
If you want to sound wise these days, just blame the crazy state of the world on polarization. If you want to sound really wise, say that fighting polarization needs to be part of the political agenda and be sure to blame social media and Donald Trump (although not necessarily in that order) for the current chaos. Despite it being...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has a plan: Hold a referendum in October to decide whether to push for a legally binding referendum on independence in the future. Confused? Host Catherine Cullen has it covered. Pro-separation lawyer Keith Wilson and federalist champion Thomas Lukaszuk will share their thoughts on Smith's decision. And the godfather of Prairie populism, former Reform Party leader...
As weeks go by, this couldn't have been worse for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. It's one thing to get in a fight with Ottawa, even a neighbouring Premier, but your own party? Your own cabinet? Or both? Over a referendum. That's just one of the topics up for discussion with Chantel Hebert and Bruce Anderson. Also on tap, Breaking News...
Let’s make a deal, Alberta! Will it be door No. 1 or door No. 2? Except there’s no zonk prize, and you’re not allowed to switch. Alberta’s premier has put an end to the speculation about whether voters will get a say on the future of the province. Danielle Smith has announced a tenth referendum question on the ballot in...
At Issue this week: Premier Danielle Smith addresses Alberta's sovereignty quagmire with plans for a referendum on having the original separatism referendum. How other provinces are reacting to the Ottawa-Alberta energy deal. Plus, what American delays on opening a new cross-border bridge say about trade negotiations.
